Berrien County Youth Fair Endowment

For over 70 years, the Berrien County Youth Fair has focused on the youth of Berrien County by providing a showcase for the projects they have completed during the past 12 months.

“Builders of Good Citizenship” has been the motto of the fair since it’s beginning in 1945. The original Board of Directors wanted to provide a family event where youth could learn new skills and exhibit those skills annually.

NO alcohol and no games of chance were then and are now the underlying beliefs to insure family fun and safety while at the fair.

Volunteers are the backbone of the Berrien County Youth Fair. The fair as well as the year round events depend on the hearts and souls of over 1,000 dedicated volunteers that give of themselves with their focus on the youth of Berrien County.

The creation of the Berrien County Youth Fair Endowment was approved by the Board of Directors to provide a method to ensure the future focus on youth through philanthropic giving.

Many young people have grown through experiences and lessons learned at the Berrien County Youth Fair over the past 70 years. The BCYF Endowment enables you to contribute to the future of the youth of Berrien County and leave a legacy.

The Berrien County Youth Fair established an endowment within the Berrien Community Foundation. This partnership allows our Endowment to take advantage of the professional staff of the Berrien Community Foundation:

to manage investments

to handle administrative tasks

provides the additional tax benefit of the Michigan Tax Credit for Community Foundations to all contributors.

The money contributed to the BCYF Endowment will be invested and will remain intact for generations to come. Only the earnings from the Endowment will be distributed annually to the Berrien County Youth Fair Board of Directors to fund programs to improve the fair and continue our focus on youth.

Your gift to the BCYF Endowment is eligible for the Michigan Tax Credit for Community Foundations. You can deduct 50% of your gift up to a maximum of $200 for a $400 gift if you are married and filing jointly or deduct a maximum of $5,000 for a $10,000 gift from a business.

When the endowment started, each member of the Board of Directors made a contribution to the BCYF Endowment to show his or her support of future focus on youth.

BCYF Vision:
“Building the Character of the Community by Developing Character in our Youth”